


The Legend of Zelda: Song of Freedom

by Claxyeehaw



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Song of Freedom
Genre: 500 years after BOTW, Childhood Trauma, Emotional Manipulation, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fan Characters, Fan Story, Fight Scenes, Friendship, Future Zelink, Manipulation, Past Lives, Psychological Torture, Rebellion, Redemption, Reincarnation, Revolution, Takes place in the child timeline, zelda au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-08-19 11:34:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20209054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Claxyeehaw/pseuds/Claxyeehaw
Summary: 500 years after the events of Breath of the Wild Ganondorf was desfeated once more and Hyrule lives in times of peace and prosperity.However a Tyrant named Torov kills the Royal family and ceases control of the Throne, locking Zelda away in a tower and manipulating Link to serve as a loyal guard.The Spirit of the Hero and the descendent of the Goddess however plan to free the land through songs of old.





	1. Prologue: The Tyrant of Knowledge

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is a Fan Story! A game concept of sorts. It is originally written by owogodess on Instagram. I just provide the concepts and characters and then edit the story to fit on Archive of Our own! If you have any suggestions/critiqes or questions please don't hesitate to comment!  
Now enjoy our tale,

<"The blessed Kingdom. Thats the title most people give the Kingdom of Hyrule. It's royal bloodline remaining unbreakable after thousands of years, a dynasty spaning back further than any mind could comphrehend. Is that why you keep it a secret, _your majesty?"_

He came only a few days before the requested meeting with the king of Hyrule. He was a very tall, rather buff man. His face was a dead gray colour and his hair only a few shades darker was only interrupted by the minor patch of reddish hair on his chin.  
The only thing lighting up his face were his fiery orange eyes that looked like they burned with Malice. 

He wore dark black armour that seemed match no culture in the godesses land. It had touches of silver and gold on them, a darkened piece of clothing draped over his shoulder and swaying loosely behind him. 

He appeared in front of Hyrule Castle on a large grey horse the breed of which remained a mystery as well, that seemed to match his look.  
He was escorted into the castle surrounded by a crowd of Hyrulean guards with a hoard of spears facing him, yet he remained calm the entire time and followed the orders the guards who continuously hollered at him. 

Once he had entered the throne room the air became tense. The Hylian King Daphnes Gaepora of Hyrule sat in his throne regal and composed but the furrow in his brow betrayed his calm exterior as the intruders eyes bored into his soul. 

That is when he uttered his words, sharp and cold.  
The king quickly asked one of the guards if the strange man had been searched thoroughly for any type of weapon or tool.  
Once he had confirmed the man was not a threat, he began to speak in a deep and intimidating voice. 

"You have requested an audience with the great king of Hyrule, ruler of all lands connected under the royal crest. Yet the first words you utter are an accusation." 

He paused to get a glimpse of the man's reaction but it didn't change much, he still stared but now with a bit of amusement as he seemed interested in something else in the room.  
The king followed his gaze which landed on his daughter, Princess Zelda. The young girl of bearly 7 years stood by her mother's side, composed and calm just as her parents. 

The king then decided to forget the formalities and directly ask what the intentions of the man were. The man slowly directed his gaze back to the king and let out a sigh as he began to speak. 

"Your majesty, why have you chosen the Princess' given name?"  
He asked as if already aware of the response.  
The king hesitated for a second, then answered.  
"It is a blessed named bestowed upon the descendant of the goddess Hylia by tradition." His answer was just as sharp and quick as the man's, his eyes narrowing in suspicion with each minute that passed.

The man gave an annoyed expression as he responded, staring at the Princess once more.  
"Clearly you lack the knowledge of your own history if that is all you can provide."  
He paused and looked at the crowd around him.

"The royal family of Hyrule is oblivious to the mistakes of the past as much as they are to the needs of the kingdom."  
The king was visibly offended and attempted to silence the man but he turned to the princess and continued, "Tell me, Princess Zelda. Do you have any knowledge of the Triforce other than as mere decoration on your banners and flags?"  
His tone was beginning to become threatening and Princess Zelda felt weak as she anxiously shook her head.  
The man then began speaking to the entire room his voice booming as he gestured to the throne.  
"The history of Hyrule is a history written in the blood of the people most in need of liberation. From the beginning of dawn the goddess Hylia damned us all to a never ending life of misery."  
His eyes seemed to darken with every spoken word and he practically spat his next words.  
"She uses the people as pawns in a never ending war between the evil known as Demise, the Hero chosen by her and -"  
He turned back to the small princess who cowered back in fear, holding onto her mothers arm.  
"Her own descendent." 

Several guards were quick to yell blasphemy and raised their spears higher.  
"The acient technology of the Sheikah? The royal family denied you for millenia. Devices capable of saving numerous lives buried under earth and stone. And for what reason? You all should know of Calamity Ganon."  
The entire room went silent.  
Fed up with his disrespect the King stood up and ordered his men to immediately cease this stranger and lock him up.

Only... The man was faster.

With the speed and ferocity of an feral animal he ripped the spear out of the nearest soldiers hand and pierced it through Daphnes' neck.  
Eyes wide and shocked the monarch coughed up blood and fell to the floor as the spear was pulled out again. 

The princess' scream ripped through the shocked silence and in an instance the entire battalion surrounded Torov. He however was quick to snare a spell and with the flick of his hands two massive Lynels seemingly formed out of thin air.  
While the soldiers were occupied he glanced at the Queens' hand which began to shine with a sacred golden glow. In one fluid motion he slapped her across the face and picked her up by her neck. 

"Your curse will not save you again."

He tightened his grip until a disgustingly clear snap echoed through the screams of the battalions' soldiers. He tossed her body over the sactrums side without as much as a second glance.  
Next his eyes scanned the throne room for the princess only to find her gone.  
That is until he spotted the bloody footprints smeared across the rugs that led to the halls up the castle. 

The princess had run to her brother as quick as her feet could carry her and barged into his room panting,  
eyes frantically looking around until they spotted the blond haired boy leaning against his bed's headboard coughing as he raised an eyebrow at his younger sister. 

"Zelda? Is that blood on your feet? What-"  
"Father- h-he- the man! He-"  
She was interrupted by the door being kicked in. The man towered over the two children looking down at them like they were dirt on his path. 

"Ah Prince Rhoam, faring well despite your black lungs?" He sneered and grabbed Zelda by her short hair as she cried out, small hands trying to pry herself away from the moster of a man.  
Rhoam immediately glared at him and stood up leaning against his bed's side. "Release her you vile crea-" He coughed again, more violently and little droplets of blood escaped his mouth.  
The man snickered, an grin stretching across his face as he picked the princess up.  
"I trust you won't follow us lest you challange your luck to much."  
He dragged Zelda through the halls, through her room to her fromer study. Screams of terror rang from beyond the castle walls as he closed the door and secured it with a firm break of the handle. 

That day the Hyrulean family was thought to be terminated. The people of Hyrule were forced to respect him and the man went to every village and town tearing apart every household until he eventually found a loyal guard to aid his cause.  
Prince Rhoam of Hyrule succumbed to his illness days later, his bloody clothes joining the other ones tossed into the Princesses' prison.

The princess was locked away as a trophy for the man, and the guard swore an oath to his one master.

The King of Hyrule. 

Torov.


	2. Guard Dog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 10 years passed since that fated day the princess remained a prisoner in her own castle while a particular boy became the kings most trusted guard...

Link's Pov. 

I was born for one purpose.  
That purpose was to be the loyal guard of The King, Torov.   
I was one of the few Hylians that served the king, as the rest were either demoted to mere farmers or executed for standing against him.

The rest of the guards are monsters such as Bokoblins, Moblins, and much more.   
The king has two giant gold Lynels as his guard pets that tirelessly patrol the castle grounds for any signs of rebellion and has positioned entire armies of powerful monsters across the kingdom.  
ReDeads are scattered across the kingdoms borders and are ready to attack any invaders or rogue citizens, and silver Lizalfos arm several archer towers around the castle. 

Bokoblins of all kinds litter the castle walls ready to use the built-in defence, and the main battalion is a mix of all types of monsters.  
The hylian Soldiers are used as a last line of defence before the Lynels since unlike monsters, Hylians cannot be replaced. 

The kingdom has grown used to the constant presence of the monsters and just as Torov intended they stayed in line as a result. 

The king has made the kingdom's economy more efficient at the expense of the Grorons who work in the mines for days on end without rest.  
We noticed a decline in the water quality near Zora River as well and several people report sightings of seemingly feral looking Zora attacking them.

He also told us about the hidden history of Hyrule. How the false godess Hylia has caused a never ending cycle of war through a beast known only as Ganon. 

He has given me a chance of redemption, as all the other Hylian Heroes failed at ending this suffering.   
I want to make Hyrule proud. I want to make myself proud.

My main job was to stay by the king while the other Hylians usually guarded the special prisoner, Zelda.   
For some odd reason, he never wanted me to go near Zelda, for she bears the infection of failure. She represents everything Hylia has done wrong and I was not about to do the same.   
I was his royal guard, after all, I needed to succeed at everything at all times.

I was taken from my family at the age of 8, that was the time King Torov first took control of the throne.   
I don't remember much of it because that memory is not very clear to me.  
All I remember was being outside my house practising my sword fighting with my older sister Lillie. She was amazing at fighting with a sword, her movements were precise and quick but also elegant.   
Next thing I know my parents were running outside, my father standing in front of us all his arm raised, shielding us from the men I presume were Royal Guards.   
Torov was there himself, and he told me about my destiny. I was so fascinated that I was meant to be the royal guard of the true king of Hyrule.   
He ordered my father to come closer and talked to him in a voice to quiet for me to understand.   
My father came back and quickly told my mother to pack my things.   
The last thing I remember was waving my parents' goodbye as the royal guards stayed with them.   
I was later told that our farm was being secured for the castle's uses.   
Almost immediately after we got to the castle Torov ordered his guards to train me in the art of axe fighting  
Years passed and my axe skills far outdid my swordman's abilities. 

A part of me wanted to see my parents again, to show them I had grown up to be a great royal guard, but it didn't stop me from doing my job efficiently. 

Most of my time was dedicated to staying inside the castle but on special occasions, I would be assigned a task to take down members of the forbidden alliance known as the Sheikah.  
We all knew they were a group of scum that used dark magic to try and plant false ideas into our minds, and I would get the honour of interrogating them. 

Usually, they did not comply and we were forced to just dispose of them, but some gave us small clues before being imprisoned, yet it was never enough to find out how to eliminate them for good.  
I hope to be the one to finally defeat their leader, Impa.

Impa was once the princess's attendent until she ran away like a coward with the rest of her traitors when Torov took the throne.   
There were old portraits of her that were turned into wanted posters.   
She seemed very tall and a bit intimidating, but I was still not afraid.  
She couldn't hope to match my level of combat even though she seemed to wield a large two-handed cleaver as a weapon.   
I was extremely fast despite my heavy axe, some have even said that it's like time slows down for me, which I can't argue with because that's how it seems.

There was no way she could be able to escape me unless she used dark magic. We also have some magic users in our battalion but all of them used normal magic.

As confident as I am in taking her down, I also knew not to underestimate the Sheikah. They had their fair share of skill when it comes to sneaking and running.  
I still believe that we will be able to eliminate them. 

Torov also tells us not to underestimate our enemies, for it is a fool's judgment. I honestly agree with what he says most of the time.  
He has made the Kingdom a place of efficiency and power.   
The strong survive.   
It's not like he has ever led us astray, so why should I not trust him? 

He's the king, and I serve him. Not much to it than that.


	3. Distress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Link lived a life of relative luxury the younh Princess faded away in her former study. Her once curious spirit a mere fraction of what it used to be.

Zelda Pov.

He took it all by force. 

The castle, the kingdom, and even the lives of my entire family.  
I watched them all die with my own eyes, as he grabbed the spear of one of the guards and hurled it right at my father, impaling his throat. 

The image of my beloved father choking out blood always pained me like shards of glass in my head. He even dared to strangle my mother and throw her off the side of the sanctum. I don't know what happened to Rhoam at first, I had hoped that he escapaded and found Impa but the blood stained clothes that were thrown in here proved me wrong. 

I could tell that he did all that to break me, after all, he did mention that I was meant to unlock a special power gifted by the goddess Hylia, but I never had the strength to even think long about the subject.  
Whatever Torov planned that day, it worked, and Hyrule belonged to him now.

I only have a small room in the tower located on the western side of the castle. It used to be my study, but everything had been removed and burned.  
All my notes about the wonders of nature and the special songs my mother taught me as I wrote them down were all gone.  
I didn't even get to feel much of the fresh breeze since the only way air entered the room was through small cracks in the walls and the window high above my reach.  
That was also my only way of light and warmth.  
I don't understand why they didn't put me in the lockup, I guess they didn't want me to socialize with the countless innocent people he probably locked behind the iron doors.  
The worst part about being in this small room was that the blood-stained clothes of everyone he killed reeked of death. No matter how far I pushed them away their invasive smell reminded me of that horrible day. 

They were all piled up in a corner, I could even see my parents royal garments and my mothers crown, the gem broken and the gold rusted and stained by age and filth.  
I feel that Torov is trying to haunt me with the deaths of all his victims.  
I tried not to think too hard about it, but when you're locked in a small room with the stench of the bloodstained clothes formerly owned by your own people, what else is there to do? 

All I could think about is how all this was maybe my fault after all.  
I was supposed to have a special power within me. Maybe if I had known more about my responsibilities as the princess of Hyrule, I could have unlocked this power and stopped Torov long ago.  
A part of me thought that was possible, but the power could only be used on the incarnation of evil, known as Ganon.  
So how could I have used it on this man? He knew everything about the history of Hyrule and everything came together clearly, especially with the excessive amount of proof he had.  
I knew he was the villain here and I tried to understand his motives. All he wanted was for the cycle of incarnation between the hero, princess, and demise to come to an end. But why not kill me then?  
He said that the cycle was caused by Hylia's blood. 

Everyone knew he tried his hardest to prepare the army for Ganon's return, in whatever form he mustered. He thought that it was the heroes fault for never understanding the creation of the monster that had caused them great anguish for all these years. I didn't understand how the hero would have known about the curse of demise, but he makes it seem like the hero was unintelligent and worthless.  
Like he didn't understand the weight his role held for the world.  
The world... 

I've always been an outdoor person.  
I love the smell of the wild, it's so exotic and free. Before Torov ruled Hyrule I would go out with my mother on special occasions and decorate the castle with blue nightshades, which glow at night.  
I would go on my own with Impa most of the time and witness the beautiful scenery that Hyrule had to offer. 

It was so rich with tall mountains and green plains, it even made me, the princess of Hyrule, feel small.  
My old room had an enormous skylight which lit up the room at all times, so there was never any need for me to use any man-made lights.  
I never slept during the day so I didn't have any problems with the natural light at all if anything it made me feel so much better when I felt the warm sun on me. Even when it rained it would be fun to see the little droplets tap the roof in a rhythmic manner which gave me little ideas for small songs that I would write down in my notebook.

Music has always been one of my favourite things in the world. It has kept me sane over these past years. Singing and humming at least gave me something to do. 

Back then I would regularly go to the forest to hear the birds singing, humming with them and watching the deer seemingly prance to the parade of nature.

Sometimes mother or Impa would take me to other villages learning about all types of songs.  
Each song I heard always seemed to fit the environment of the place I was hearing it. The atmospheres ranged from exiting to relaxing and no place was the same. 

I guess I had a special connection to music, and that's nothing I would complain about.  
I don't hear the music anymore though, at least not good music.  
The Bokoblins usually...sing..? I would personally call it screeching and hitting their clubs togheter but it's not like they were the most intelligent creatures. 

I only hear the loud shrieks and screams of people stepping out of line and every time I heard it, a new set of clothes were thrown into my cell. 

Even after hearing those screams a bunch of times, it still haunted me.  
I can't even go to sleep anymore. I just lay awake in my room, sitting down knees to my chest, tears rolling down my face, as I stare at the locked iron door on the other side of the room wondering if I'll ever get out of this room alive.


	4. A fated meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The more you pull something the more it will push. 
> 
> Destiny has a nasty habit of pushing its limits.

Link Pov. 

I hummed contenly as I checked the latest reports.  
The number of enemies were dwindling with each day because of Torov's brilliant way of setting up our offense and defense.  
He seemed to be a master in the art of war and fortifying.  
He was so good, even I couldn't even imagine how he would do in a fight himself.  
I've only heard tales of that day but they whispered that he possed the speed and strength of an animal.

The only real threat that lingered out of our grasp were the Sheikah.  
Of course they were extremely talented and loyal, so having someone to counteract them was hard. We would have to have a group of extremely agile and quick soldiers to stand a chance if we were to find and raid their hideout.  
Sadly there isn't a lot of people like that in our battalion. We need more Hylian members like that, because we all knew monsters were no good against the Sheikah. I'm not sure why, but I have a feeling we're going to find something big, a clue perhaps to lead us to them.

Today our scouts reported that a group of Sheikah were sighted just near the central tower, heading toward the bridge of Demise.  
I could feel the trap before the scout had finished his words, it was broad daylight  
and if they needed to get somewhere it would have been farther away from the castle. 

Their was just too much flaws for this to be a group of Sheikah, but Torov told us that whatever we were thinking is what the Sheikah wanted.  
They were outstanding at what they do, masters at twisting the mind to their liking, of course they would take precaution after precaution to make sure they had every little detail of a plan flawless.  
We didn't have anyone that decisive on our side.

We prepared for an ambush and mounted our horses whose armor made them impenetrable.  
We needed to be prepared for anything, so we snatched all sorts of weapons of the highest quality. 

I prefered to use my double edged axe, but I was pretty much good with anything and carried a shield on my back as a precaution.

We had two magic users in our squad just in case we needed to shield ourselves or get any extra firepower, if the archers failed. As far as I knew, these magic users were fairly advanced with magic. 

I knew one of them because he was also specialised in melee fights and was in my class when I was learning. 

I decided to talk to him to see how far he had gotten with his training.  
“Hey! Yuno!" I yelled as I slowed down my horse to ride beside him.  
The fair haired boy, Yuno quickly looked to his right, giving me a surprised, yet happy look.  
"Oh hey there!" He chuckled as his eyes shined with recognition, "it's been a while. Link, right?"  
I laughed and replied with a yes.  
We both caught up and I asked him a couple of questions about his life so far.  
Apparently he was learning how to become an elite magic user so that he could help his village with anything they needed.  
From healing, to getting rid of bandits he wanted to fight for those who couldn't stand up for themselves.  
I admired his goal as it was fairly similar to my own and told him about myself, at least the stuff he didn't already know.  
We used to be good friends and I was looking forward to seeing him more often.  
It was nice to make friends out of the few Hylians we had.  
"You up for some witch blood?" I joked as we reached our destination.  
He seemed to ready his arms for a spell and replied with an egotistical and confident, "Of course!"

We approached the destination and found a group of Hylian merchants in dismay. We could tell it was a trap, because there were no schedules for merchants to be travelling across Hyrule field today.  
The front row of guards got off their horses and stayed a clear distance away from the suspected Hylians.  
One ran over to us and told us about a Sheikah attack, but one of the spear users kept her at a distance. 

"There are no schedules for a trip between Hyrule field today!"  
Yelled the captain and the merchants looked confused as their spokesperson said: "We got a message that we were supposed to deliver supplies to Rito Village." 

We knew to think of every possible outcome in this situation.  
It was either the Sheikah set these merchants up for an ambush, or these merchants were the Sheikah setting us up.  
I decided to get off my horse and go right up to them, axe ready. The captain looked offensed and yelled at me.  
"Link! What are you doing? Get back here!"  
I gave him a reassuring smirk as I approaches one of the merchants and revealed the contents of his bag with a quick slice of my axe.

I gasped and immediately stood back pulling my shield out and facing it towards him. 

"What's wrong?" Yelled the captain. "Sheikah tech!" I yelled back quickly, as I ran towards the man and hurled the device away. Suddenly, there was a blue glow from the airborne device. 

All the merchants looked horrified and screamed in terror. The device blew up, leaving nothing but smoke around the area of detonation. I quickly turned to the man who carried the device and pulled my axe again asking him where he got the device.

He yelled and cried ,"I didn't know that was in there! Someone gave me the supplies!"  
Then suddenly, a similar blue glow came from 4 or 5 more people.  
They shrieked and tried desperately to get rid of the bags.  
I watched in horror as some of the merchants smiled and disappeared into a cloud of smoke the familiar red shining in their eyes.

"Link! Get over here!" Yelled Yuno getting ready to use his magic once more.  
I sprinted toward my battalion expecting to be shielded from the upcoming blast but instead, Yuno fell to the ground, blood spilling from his neck, alongside his other magic comrade. I saw as he gurgled up some blood before his eyes faded.  
The whole battalion went ballistic as the huge explosion engulfed the people in the front.

I had quickly gotten on my horse and had rode away from the blast, as did some of my left over comrades.  
I couldn't believe Yuno had died just like that. We lost both of our magic users at the beginning of the battle. We were now circling a huge cloud of smoke, contemplating what our next move would be. The captain was alive but slightly injured and was quick to put the blame on me.

“You just had to approach the damn merchants, didn't you?” He growled holding the wound on his arm.  
I pushed aside his question and focus on the current situation. “How many did we lose?” I asked.  
He took a quick look at the riders we had and reported back with his usual demanding tone. “Four, including the magic users.”

I was about to respond, but suddenly a barrage of arrows emerged from the cloud of smoke. We quickly separated, luckily none of the arrows had hit us, but they kept firing, and the smoke didn't seem to be losing density. 

“We obviously can't just go in there swinging our swords all over the place!” Yelled one of the riders.  
The captain then took out his bow and aimed a bomb arrow straight at the smoke cloud and signalled us to do the same. We all obeyed his orders and on his mark, fired the arrows in the cloud. We saw the bright orange explosion from within the cloud and heard a few shrieks.  
We even saw a bow fly out of the cloud as we prepared for our second volley, until a group of Sheikah appeared right in front of our group, bows ready. 

Again we quickly dispersed, but I could see a couple of men falling out of the corners of my eyes.  
I then quickly turned my horse toward the group of Sheikah and drew my bow, hoping to get them all while they were still grouped together.  
I could see them about to disappear, so at that moment I jumped off my horse and got ready to fire. 

Everything went still and I could only hear the beating of my heart and my breathing. I briefly closed my eyes before opening them again and shooting the arrrow between my breath. I landed on my feet and watched as the arrow destroyed their group. But I saw one shadow running out of the smoke. 

"Keep your eyes peeled!" I yelled, warning the group.  
Everyone went on position and prepared to attack the Sheikah.  
I suddenly heard the sound of wind rushing behind me and quickly pinned the Sheikah down from behind me.  
I made sure he couldn't be a threat, then I got him on his feet and commenced the interrogation.

Everyone slowly came around us after they were done collecting themeselves.  
I held a dagger to his neck, ready to end his life right here and now, but we needed him for the information he could provide to us.  
Even though I appeared calm I was furious, my hand trembeled, tempted to slit his throat for all the pain he and his people had caused.

His groul had murdered Yuno and countless others.  
I wondered what went through their mind when they took a life.  
Did they feel remorse, knowing they had killed someone with hopes and dreams?  
Someone who most likely had a family and friends?  
My eyes glared deeply at him, filled with what seemed to be nothing but malice.  
I knew that I hated the Sheikah, but never as much as I did now.

The captain was quick to dismiss me, and took hold of the Sheikah himself.  
I walked away making sure the bodies of our comrades were properly tended to, they deserved to have a respectable funeral.  
I got my horse ready to carry Yuno's body, while the captain tied up the Sheikah and prepared to bring him with us. The Sheikah man was quiet just like the others, but this time he had a sense of anxiousness in his eyes.  
Suddenly he looked at me with a weird glare, he almost looked dissapointed.  
I ignored his looks and tried to forget about it, but something about the way he looked at me seemed...off.

\-- -- --

We arrived at the castle before dusk, I dismounted my horse and carried the body of my deceased friend to the Hall Of Heroes.  
It was a long corridor with spaces in the walls to put bodies of the diseased. Several statues stood between the empty spaces like guardians watching over the dead.  
That's where the bodies would stay until someone had claimed them.  
When Torov had began his rule over Hyrule, he had several of the royal families heirlooms burned in here.  
Something told me that he hadn't just bruned their possessions.  
So the hall did have an unpleasant fading odour of ash and blood.

I gently put Yuno's flimsy body down and gave him a small prayer before leaving the hall.  
On my way out I noticed something particular in the corner of the hall. I knelt down and picked it up realizing that it was a slightly burnt book, with the signature of Princess Zelda.

I was quick to drop it in disgust, remembering the words of my master. How she carried the curse of failure but.. It was only a book right? 

I picked it back up and started to flip the pages.  
Some of it was unreadable the ink faded by time and decay but the pages that were spoke in great detail about the vast wild and open landscape of Hyrule. 

I was impressed by the literature of the princess, as it seemed really beautiful and elegant escpecially for such a young person.

I could hear footsteps coming toward me, so I quickly pocketed the journal and left the hall.  
I did feel a bit weird about taking a book signed by the princess and keeping it a secret, but I was curious about what was in the book, and I did need something to do in my free time other than socialize with the other guards which was never a compelling option in the first place because most of them were very dull and boring talking about ranks and women.  
Now that I think about it, that might be the reason why I didn't talk much in general.

After paying my respects to my fellow comrades, I went to my chamber and decided to take a little look at what I had just discovered.

I couldn't believe what I was reading. There was so much in this book, from songs to notes, even some diary entries. It was fascinating to see what the princess actually did instead of sitting in the castle all day waiting to inherit the throne. "It seems she wrote down songs here." I thought to myself, while looking at a page filled with different musical notes. I was able to play the guitar, so I could relate to the love of music she had. I looked to said guitar resting on the wall at the other side of the room and decided to have some fun. After all, I wasn't needed anywhere else after today. The only thing I was waiting for was the report review we would receive from the king, along with the interrogation of the Sheikah member we had captured. So in the meantime, might as well entertain myself.  
I grabbed my guitar and began tuning it. I hadn't used the instrument in quite a while, so it was refreshing to come back to it. After I finished tuning it and making sure it was in good condition, I looked at the notes in the book and matched them to the strings on my guitar to make sure they were the proper notes. I then prepared myself, and began to play the first song in the book, labeled as "The Minuet of the Forest". I started strumming my guitar, matching each and every note. It sounded much like something that would play at a parade, but it had an enchanted feeling, like you would hear it from deep within a forest. I closed my eyes and smiled slightly imagining a deep forest filled with all kinds of creatures peacefully living their lives. It was a song that was both peaceful and grand at the same time, it gave me goosebumps. As I continued to play the song, I heard a distant humming that matched the song I was playing, from outside. Curiously I played a few notes and received a perfectly fitting melody from the humming person when suddenly the humming became singing. "A oreup usque ad murebil vid spirdeem, chorus micrus siroba Deku..." I was sweet and calm and I felt instantly comforted by the soft tune. I stopped playing and took the book, got up and equipped a torch from the wall before making my way through the halls. It was rather dark out and the castle doesnt have much light, so the torch came in really handy at times like this. I followed the sounds of the humming, but it didn't lead me too far away. I went upstairs one level and heard the source of the humming to my left and to my surprise, it was coming from Princess Zelda's cell.  
I contemplated on whether I should approach her and give her the book back. I didn't want to get in trouble for disobeying Torov but I could relate to the irritation of losing something you hold dear and worked on for many years. If I remember correctly, Princess Zelda was the one who was supposed to unlock the power to defeat Ganon. That doesn't sound like she's an inherently bad person. So why would it be a problem if I went and talked to her?  
I decided I would just head over, give her the book, and leave. So I entered her room and went to the exit that lead to the pathway to her former study. As soon as I started to walk on the pathway, her humming stopped immediately. I assume she must've been afraid someone was coming to scold her for singing too loud, or for singing at all. I didn't mind the singing, in fact I was a little disappointed that she stopped.  
I went up the cold iron door stopping shortly before my hand reached for the keys. Torov explicitly forbid me any contact with her, I could just burn the damn book and get over it but that just felt.. Wrong. So I unsheathed a dagger I carried with me, before entering the room just in case. As I opened the door slightly, I could see two wide sea green eyes shimmering with the moonlight. They quickly moved farther away, so I opened the door fully. Then I finally saw her. Princess Zelda. She seemed to be abot my age but she was so pale and her face looked tired and worn, her eyes bloodshot and puffy from what I assumed was crying. She had short light brown hair with one braid that went all the way down to her lower back and looked like she hadn't washed it for a long time. She only wore a ripped dress along with worn stockings. I could see her dirtied shoes, or rather sandals jn the corner of the room, opposite of a bloodied pile of clothes. I lit up the room with my torch, exposing the areas of the room the minimal moonlight failed to touch. I could see much more of the horrid living conditions of the cell. There were pieces of broken wood and metal, and shards of glass on the floor along with what looked like strands of brown hair. I guess she took to cutting her own hair in here. It smelled horrible and what was worse was that there was no real place to go to the bathroom.  
As I observed the 'room' further I saw how she pushed herself away in fear, tucking her knees to her chest. Only one eye glared at me, checking to see if I would harm or scold her. Feeling horrible for scaring her like that I sheated the dagger and raised my hands up after putting the torch on the old rusty torch holder by the door. I gave her a reassuring look as I thought about how I could comfort her, "Its OK. I'm not here to harm you in any way." I spoke soflty as I approached her slowly. She opened up a bit more and found the courage to finally speak. "What do you want..?" She quivered her eyes flicking up and down my form still searching for any kind of threat. I took the book out of my back pocket and held it in front of me. "I found this book with your signature on it. I suppose you heard me playing a song from it and started singing, so I came here to return it and apologize." I bowed polity as I handed her the book. She seemed to hesitate and give me a weird look before reaching out and taking it quickly. She looked through the book and I could see a slight smile light up her face as she stopped on certain pages and looked over what she had wrote down. She sat in a more comfortable position and looked at me with her book still open in hand. She examined me and constantly brought her gaze behind me like she was expecting other guards to show up, I could tell she had major trust issues. "Why did you give this back to me?" She asked softly and careful, like a deer questioning a docile wolf. I looked confused and wondered why she would ask such a question. "It belonged to you so I thought it was right to return it." I hesitated and cleared my throat. She gave me a surprised expression and a slight smile, "Right to return it? You mean after you snooped through it?" She huffed while giving me a stern look. "Ah I'm sorry I know I shouldn't have looked through it I just-" To my suprise once more she began to let out a playful giggle. She got up weakly, her legs seeming shaky and unstable and turned the book to me as she pointed at a page. "I'm pretty sure this is the song you were playing!" She said as she pointed to The Minuet of the Forest. I nodded and she turned the book back to herself as she began speaking again. "The reason why I felt obligated to start humming was because I haven't heard music for a long time. And because this song is meant to be a duet between two people." She blushed slightly and looked away, nervously crossing her arms. "I-Im sorry for humming so loudly… Its just second nature to me, I guess.." She admitted. I gave her a reassuring smile and told her: "It's actually welcomed, I'm just glad that you got something so precious to you back." I turned to leave but she grabbed my shirt arm and stopped me half way. "What's your name?" She asked, eyes positively shining with genuine interest. I turned and held one of my hands out to her, nodding my head once. "My name is Link Lew Dorekan. Of course, most just call me Link." She suddenly had a frightened look in her eyes and her calm demeanor instantly changed to a stressed one. She stepped back and let out a small and quiet "oh." I didn't understand the why she reacted that way so I dropped my hand. I didn't see a reason to stay any longer, so I bid her fairwell, locked the door, and left for my room in silence.

Once I got back, I sat back down on my desk and put my guitar away properly. It was a shame I didn't get to have any other music to play, but it did give me the idea to write down songs that I hear throughout my daily life. Starting tomorrow I would carry a journal and do just that. It was late, so I took my tunic and chaimail off and went to bed. I was able to sleep well, because of how tiring the day was. I thought about the deaths of my comrades though and came close to having a nightmare but her sweet humming suprisingly helped to calm my mind and sleep.

The next day was the day of the interrogation. I quickly got prepared and headed for the sanctum, where the king resided. When I got there, I could see the Sheikah prisoner knelt down before the king in chains, with the captain and another soldier holding him down. Several other guards stood in a circle around the sanctrum and Lizalfos already aimed at the sheikah just in case. I went to find a seat at the side so I could interact with the situation. "Link this could be it! We can finally find the Sheikah settlement!" One of my peers excitedly said and several others began to murmur and dicuss whether this was our break through. "Settle down!" The king finally yelled. Everyone went silent and turned their attention to the King of Hyrule. "I thank all of you for attending the interrogation!" He pointed at the Sheikah member and looked at him in disgust. "This man is from the rebel alliance known as the Sheikah, and today we will be interrogating him to give us the answers we need to successfully catch our enemies!" Everyone cheered as King Torov raised his arm in the air in victory. "Now." he growled as he took off his cape and cracked his knuckles. "We will get what we need. There simply is no other option." He looked down at the Sheikah member and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. The Sheikah gave me a quick glance and began to speak. "The first ancient sage. Carried by the Hero's Shade. The night stalker." He said quickly. The king looked in confusion then threw him down. "What does it mean?" He snarled. The Sheikah member then spoke in special text. Everyone whispered, and some were afraid he was casting a spell. King Torov grabbed him again and listened to his words. After hearing what the Sheikah member had mumbled, his expression darkened and he threw him down with we much force as he could and ordered for him to be executed. The guards immediately rushed him away and the audience was dismissed. I walked over next to the throne and looked at him in worry. "What did he say?" I asked brows furrowing when I sawhow agitated he was. King Torov looked at me as he walked back to his throne to sit down. "He insulted me, then spoke an oath that is uttered only before taking a vow of eternal silence." I was impressed by that fact that the Sheikah actually had something like that, but I was mostly focused on what he had provided to us. "What do we do with the information he gave us? Who is the Hero's Shade and the ancient sage?" I had so many questions and the answers could give us to a major lead. "Leave it for now, you know how they play their twisted games. I will figure some things out first." I nodded and stayed in guard position by his throne crossing my arms behind my back and sighing. "Speaking of mind games…" he said intimidatingly his eyes staring right through me. "I have received information that you...'visited'... Zelda." I froze in place and his fierce gaze made me hesitant to speak, but I found the courage to muster up an excuse, without mentioning the book. "I-I was just- she started singing so I went by to look what she did. I'm sorry my lord." I kneeled apologetically, hoping that would make him more forgiving. He let out a large sigh and fully turned to me. "Why did you think it was OK for you to approach her?" He had a threatening tone. Again, I mustered up courage to keep rebuttalling against his questions. "Well, I thought that since she was the descendant of the goddess, she would have something interesting to say. So I figured a little bit of small talk wouldn't hurt." I said weakly, as if he could tell that I was lying through my teeth. He held in his angered look for a few seconds longer, then let it go. He let out a heavy sigh and walked away from the throne, to the edge of the balcony overlooking the sanctrum. He tilted his head slightly back at me and spoke, "I was going to tell you this later, but I see why it is necessary to reveal this to you now." He paused, thinking for a moment before walking back to me and put one hand on my shoulder, as the other pointed to Zelda's cell through the window. "The one that remains in that cell, the former Princess Zelda, is a failure as you know. She has failed to unlock the powers of the goddess, and shows no sign of the power either." I looked at the battered room in disappointment and let out a sad "oh." He looked at me with the same dissapointed look and then continued his explanation. "The reason I have kept her alive and locked away, is because if she dies, there would be higher chance of Ganon resurrecting sooner. So I kept her alive, hidden away so that noone can ruin one of our chances to stop the curse of Hylia." I was concerned about how we would defeat Ganon with a defected descendant, and couldn't get my mind off it. "How will we defeat Ganon then?" I asked, voice laced with worry. "We will utilize the remaining Sheikah technology once we locate and exterminate the last Sheikah." He said as he sat back down in his throne. "For now I will decipher the information we have received today, while you will spend the rest of the day training the rookie knights as your punishment." I agreed and made my way to the barracks. This was going to be a long day. But it was a lighter punishment than I expected. 


	5. Scheming in the name of Power

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the game of manipulation you win or you die at the hands of the people you manipulated.

Torov POV.   
Link has always been my personal guard. 

He took an oath to protect me, time and time again he has proven that he is loyal to no one but me. 

That is why his recent act of disobedience greatly concerns me, as it could bring down my entire plan.  
Of course there is a side of me that wishes to just strangle the godesses' descendent and be over with it but even that bears the chance of being my doom as well.  
First and foremost I must keep Link from ever interacting with Zelda again.   
So I have taken several liberties to ensure that never happens.   
From now on Zelda's room will be guarded 24/7 and all the corridors and stairways that lead to her cell will be watched by archers and foot soldiers.  
I have also confiscated the key that Link had, and destroyed it just in case he would ever try to reclaim it. I will not relocate Link's room, since I need him to be able to watch Zelda's room just in case of an escape emergency, but I have hired someone to always keep tabs on where Link is and when. 

At last, I went to her room and crossed the bridge between it and her study motioning for the guards to move out of the way. They obeyed without a question and I unlocked the door opening it.   
I could see Zelda's eyes look up in hope for a moment before they instantly changed to a look of absolute terror.  
"So I heard you have met my dear guard, hm?"   
I furrowed my brows and watched as she tried to get away from me as far as possible, shaking and stuttering.   
"I-I swear I didn't k-know it w-was him! Pl-please just-"   
"SILENCE."   
She immediately shut her mouth and tucked her head in, looking away.   
I picked up the disgraced crown of the former queen that lied next to the clothes and grabbed her shoulder harhsly, holding it right up to her face.  
"If you ever, EVER try to manipulate him with whatever words you spoke that day I will personally make sure that every second of your life will be nothing but suffering, is that clear?!"  
"y-yes..."  
"IS THAT CLEAR?!" I threw the crown across the cell hearing as it hit the wall and broke a little.  
"Y-YES!"   
She nearly screamed hugging herself and sliding down against the wall as I let go of her shoulder.   
I could hear her weeping as I left the room and couldn't help but smirk at the fact.  
Everything was coming together nicely, and if there was to be an incident we could fix it up right away.   
As always though, we must stay alert and on guard. 

I will not let MY kingdom fall.

After I had finished with making sure everything was in place, it was time to decipher the riddle that the interrogated Sheikah announced to us yesterday. 

"The first ancient sage. Carried by the Hero's Shade. The night stalker. The heaven wanderer."

I was able to make out some of what he said, such as the first ancient sage, which had to mean Rauru, who was the first of the seven sages to accompany the hero of time.  
What does carried by the hero's shade mean though? A good idea would probably be to go to the library and start doing more research. I knew almost everything about the history of Hyrule, but still, it wasn't everything. I decided to read about the entire history once more in the book I had... 'obtained' when I was younger. I was very interested about my past and future, because I knew who I was and what I needed to do.  
I wanted to know why my previous incarnations always failed to take over Hyrule, so I tried to do my research and learn from their mistakes. The main things I took from all that research, was to block the interaction between the hero and the princess, think of EVERY possibility, and hide or get rid of the legendary sword that seals the darkness.

As I read through my journal, a wave of nostalgia hit me as I remembered the times I had first wrote the passages I was reading. Everything was so neat and organized, and for a moment I felt the same excitement reading it as I did making it all those years ago.  
I flipped through the pages hoping to find something related to a "Hero's Shade" but nothing came up.  
"What am I missing?"  
That question stayed with me for a while until I realised something.   
"Wait a minute…out of all the things written down here, I don't have all of the personal experiences of the different incarnations of the hero."   
An idea suddenly hit me and I thought to myself, "This Hero's Shade must have had something to do with what the hero or princess encountered during their journey."  
I guess now I have a lead, but how am I supposed to see what the hero saw?  
There were no records of his journeys or of the things that happened, especially minor details or people that the hero and princess encountered.  
I could sort of view the memories of my old incarnations, but it is yet to be proven if Zelda or Link have similar experiences.   
Perhaps I could test some things out tomorrow and see if I can somehow extract these memories from them using magic. I will study on the viewing of old memories, then I will bring Link and Zelda to me. It will be extremely risky, because I may need all three of us together, but I'm sure it will all work out. 

It better.


End file.
